The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball
Chapter 348 - 188: Sweeping? _2

Chapter 348: Chapter 188: Sweeping? _2

It was clear that the Heat’s interior was too weak; once their perimeter game failed, the Grizzlies completely dominated them.

Just then, the whistle on the court started blowing more frequently, with Wade and James taking turns at the free-throw line.

This drew boos from the Grizzlies fans in the stands.

However, the Grizzlies players remained calm, even Randolph just had a cute, silly smile on his face.

After all, isn’t it said that the hardships you experience in life become the wealth of your future success? Having faced the Lakers in a 5-on-8, such situations no longer disturbed their mentality.

You’re going to shoot two free throws, right?

I’ll score on you once we’re back in position.

Can you guarantee that you’ll make every shot?

As long as the Heat can’t muster a defensive counterattack, relying on free throws won’t help them catch up in points.

And biased officiating can’t happen every round, otherwise, not just the players but the fans are likely to storm the court.

In the end, the whistle couldn’t save the Heat.

Relying on their performance in the second half, the Grizzlies won another game with a score of 104 to 91, bringing the total score in the finals to 2-0.

As James had thought, there were very few teams in NBA history who had overturned such a situation.

The Heat were running out of time.

On the latest TNT show, the antics of The Big Three had already begun.

"Let’s talk about what the Heat needs to do to turn the disadvantage around," Smith introduced the topic of the show.

Before he had finished speaking, Barkley started:

"Stop discussing pointless topics! We should be discussing whether the Heat will win the next game and whether they’ll break up this summer!"

With just a light effort, Barkley demonstrated his extraordinary talent for commentary, maximizing the show’s effects.

"I think the Heat might not have a chance anymore. I’ve been teammates with Han, and I know what kind of guy he is," O’Neal chimed in.

"Speaking of teammates, Shaq, you’ve played with D-W, LeBron, and Han. Can you share with us their differences?" the host asked.

That was actually a very interesting topic, considering O’Neal’s vast range of former team colors; he only lacked having been teammates with Jordan.

"D-W is a very selfless person, a true team player—and I’m not talking about his stats. He would sacrifice everything for the team."

Most people present agreed with this statement, since it’s rare to find another team leader willing to relinquish so much control.

"LeBron..." O’Neal instinctively furrowed his brow, "he’s the most powerful player."

Under the curious gazes of the others, he adjusted his sitting posture:

"One time at a Cavaliers practice, Mike Brown had said training was at 10 a.m., but LeBron said 12 p.m. and then we actually changed it to 12 p.m. At that moment, I thought, ’Damn, what’s going on?’ You know, I used to be the top guy at the Lakers for a long time, but I never really had that kind of power."

"Shaq, are you sure you’re not making this up?" Barkley questioned.

"No, no, LeBron could bring his family and friends on the team’s plane, they could even come into the locker room. I saw all this in Cleveland, you can ask anyone from that team, including Han."

Now it was the others’ turn to look bewildered. Both Barkley and Smith were former professional players, and these stories sounded incredible to them, because even with Jordan, they hadn’t heard similar news.

"What about Han?" Smith pressed on.

"God gave Michael 23, he took the remaining 77," O’Neal said, laughing at his own joke.

The rest of the studio erupted in laughter too, turning it into a well-known meme.

"When I was in Cleveland, he reminded me of Kobe. We all know now about how he led one team to blow away three others during a season. He wasn’t afraid of anyone, but when it came to the playoffs..."

"Do you think he’s like another Michael?" Barkley interjected.

"No, no, he’s not Michael. He’s really good at rallying his teammates. You know, the interesting thing is, if you put Kobe or Michael on this Grizzlies team, they might not be able to produce the results Han is achieving now. That’s the difference."

He’s neither like Wade, nor like Kobe, nor like Jordan, but he seems to have something in common with them all, Hansen is indeed very special.

Yet being able to lead a team that had never made the playoffs to the finals within two years and leading 2 to 0, Hansen was indeed an anomaly.

"I think there might still be twists in the game, but Memphis will indeed create history like the Dallas people," the frank Smith also expressed his view.

"The Heat’s Big Three at their peak are good people, sacrificing themselves to achieve breakthroughs for some cities," everyone agreed, and Barkley also uttered a sentence of ultimate sarcasm.

It’s a pity he wasn’t born in this era, otherwise, meeting these good people, he wouldn’t have missed out on even one championship.

After this, they discussed the possibility of the Heat team disbanding that summer.

This time, opinions varied greatly, Barkley thought they wouldn’t, after all, forming the Big Three at their peak and not winning a championship before disbanding is too much of a loss of face for the Heat; O’Neal thought they would, after all, he had been ruthlessly sent away by Riley himself.

Compared to them, Smith’s words seemed more practical and realistic:

"It all depends on how the Heat will be eliminated, if it’s not too disgraceful, I believe they will have another chance."

...

"Han, does this mean that their fate is now in our hands?"

On the plane to Miami, Guy, who had just watched the latest episode of TNT, leaned over to Hansen.

The finals were still in a 2-3-2 format, after playing the first two games, the Grizzlies would head to Miami to play three away games in a row.

This format was actually quite unreasonable, as the team without home court advantage ended up having one more home game of the first five due to transport inconveniences to avoid travel weariness, but now it posed a challenge to the team with a home court advantage.

Of course, the Grizzlies were an exception, leading 2 to 0, they had already secured half the victory.

Hansen hadn’t had the chance to see it, and upon scanning Guy’s phone, he couldn’t help but laugh himself.

It’s no wonder these people could become top commentators; they didn’t miss a beat in spicing things up.

"Rudy, stay focused, we haven’t achieved anything yet," Hansen continued to remind Guy, he was truly worried about Guy getting carried away due to his straightforward thinking.

"Got it," Guy absentmindedly dug in his ears, "but what else can they do to beat us?"

In the last game, the referees were already helping them with biased calls, and Spoelstra had tried all possible line-ups, but the Heat still couldn’t win.

They didn’t even push them to their best form like the Thunders before.

So in a way, playing against the Lakers in the Western semifinals was pretty much the finals.

Hansen pondered for a while, then got up to find Joerger, leaving Guy staring blankly in place.

Upon arrival in Miami, there was unexpectedly a group of fans at the reception.

Of course, they weren’t there to welcome the Grizzlies, but Hansen.

They were all from Barry University, led by players from the university team.

The leader waved at Hansen, and Hansen walked over with a smile.

The teammates from back then had graduated one after another, only Aaron O’Neal, who was a freshman at the time, was still playing, now as the team captain.

After chatting for a bit, O’Neal called someone to pull out something from behind.

It was a brand-new fishing rod.

"Aaron, you... really thoughtful," Hansen almost couldn’t keep a straight face.

He had only mentioned it in jest before, not expecting this guy not only remembered but also had everything prepared.

"Don’t worry, Han, we’re your backup in Miami!" O’Neal’s words warmed Hansen’s heart.

Although the Grizzlies were playing away, for him, this place could also count as half a home court.

"Don’t worry, I’ll definitely make it count here," Hansen patted O’Neal’s shoulder and promised.